#post-trip

[spacecharr]

Oh my fucking god, it's legitimately like Limitlessing

My brain 5 days post a beginner as fuck shroom trip

[istanbulaltbreak2014-blog]

What? So What? Now What?

Before we left for our trip, we each wrote a letter to ourselves with our expectations and feelings. We did this so that we could more easily recognize our personal changes when we returned. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that the letter activity was nice, but definitely not necessary for me to measure my personal transformation after this experience. In Istanbul, we were able to connect with organizations that face uphill battles against poverty, violence, social stigma, and marginalization of minority groups. We met members of the different communities, played games with their children, cooked a community dinner, and saw the institutional disadvantages they face first hand as fancy billboards hide their homes from the rest of the city. The implementation of urban renewal projects for political and economic gain has stripped these neighborhoods of their homes, their dignity, and their hope. But, the inspiring stories from those who spend their lives providing education and health services and fighting for the rights of these communities have left us hopeful for the future and determined to join in these forces for good.

In addition to studying the Urban Renewal Projects, we learned about and met refugees and asylum seekers traveling through Turkey. After this experience we feel committed to taking several steps for action. We talked about working toward fostering social inclusion and support for refugees that are eventually relocated in the United States. We also discussed researching grants and helping to find funding for the organizations that work so hard with so few resources. Additionally, we recognized remarkable similarities between Istanbul and DC- we can act upon our new awareness and knowledge directly in our own community! Our first step was with this blog, to spread awareness about these issues and encourage others to make an effort to accept all people into our communities and acknowledge the incredible power of a community network.

As we studied gentrification in our pre-departure meetings, we came across the term "root shock." This term refers to the emotional trauma that results from being unexpectedly removed from one's home or community; it can be similar to the trauma incurred after a natural disaster. We have witnesses these effects as we've learned of the Roma who have lived in Sulukule for 1000 years and the Greeks and Kurds who have lived in Tarlabasi for generations as well. Our group saw these harmful repercussions from forced relocation and learned about the complicated web of politics and economics that traps and harms certain minority groups. As a result, we call for policies that include and take care of all the different peoples that make up a city.

I learned more from this trip and this group than i ever could have expected. I appreciate the partnerships with each of our organizations and speakers, and will continue to keep the people Tarlabasi, Sulukule, Fener, and especially my own DC, in my heart...

Stay tuned for more posts about our post trip activism as we continue to learn and advocate.

Live love laugh

Alison

[talesofamaskeddeviant]

The Weight of Past Memories

People ask me a lot these days about what I’ve seen, about what I’ve learned, and my answers to them are vague. I do not owe them a response that would appease them nor one that ought dismiss their curiosities. If anything I am vague because it is easier…

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[diceperado]

Language Trip: The Aftermath

I vaguely remember promising to provide what few readers I have with an adequate report of my journey around Britain. Now that I'm awake and overdosed with caffeine, with a few days of rest of socializing, I think the moment is appropriate.

So what was the trip about, again?  Spending two months in an English-speaking country is a degree requirement in my program (English language & translation). How we, the students, do that, is completely up to us. While me and my girl were busy railing across Britain, my friends were working in Belfast, getting ready to go study in a Scottish university or recovering from a road trip across the US (something I hope I'll get a chance of doing).

In my opinion studying abroad is, although fun, a bit too time-consuming for me, so I thought railing across Britain might be fun. And it was. We started from London on 3 June and stayed there for a whole week before doing a bit of volunteering in Tiddington, Oxfordshire. During the course of two weeks I painted interiors, fences, did a bit a gardening and weeding, helped make a slope for a barn, pressure washed pavings and I tried my best to be a helping hand for my host family. It wasn't all fun and games, and there were some misunderstandings between us and the hosts, but we got along well.

We left Tiddington on 26 June and spent a week in Oxford before starting the actual railing. Our whole route went as follows:

London - Tiddington - Oxford - Bath - Cardiff - Plymouth - Manchester - Edinburgh - Newcastle - York - London

As you might expect, the best thing about interrailing and living in hostels for two months is meeting people of different nationalities and backgrounds. Once you get past the initial awkwardness, you're bound to make new friends. Of course we got to see all sorts of sights - castles, museum exhibitions, local stand-up, street performers - but to me the best thing was getting to know folks from all over the world. I know, it's kind of a cliche. 

Fun fact: if you're railing in Britain, you'll certainly run into a ton of Aussies. Seriously, you're more likely to talk to someone from Down Under than you are to an actual Brit. :D We also came across a huge number of Spaniards, a lot of whom were, from what I've heard, looking for work. We bumped into some Finns as well, but tried our best to steer clear of them.

You might be wondering which of the cities I liked or disliked the most. I count Manchester as my favorite. I loved the industrial milieu, the hostel we stayed in was very comfortable and homely, and there was street art everywhere! The second best city for me was definitely Cardiff, and you should definitely visit the city if you ever find yourself in Wales. Edinburgh was pretty cool, too. Not necessarily my cup of tea, but the scenery in Scotland was amazing!

Plymouth was, in turn, the city I enjoyed the least. Sorry if that offends any locals. I got the feeling there wasn't a lot to see there. We stayed there for a couple of days which were spent getting absolutely baked in the sun. Maybe it's just that, and not the city itself. 

London was pretty cool - that goes without saying - but I'm not the kind of person who gets overly excited about big cities. I live in a town of some 74 000 people, and I often find HELSINKI to be too busy for me. You might imagine how London must have felt, or Tokyo for that matter. I enjoyed both, but there's no way I could live in either of them for an extended period of time.

Britain as a whole was neat. The people are a lot more open than in Finland. I'm not trying to say that we Finns are unfriendly per se, but we usually stick to our own tiny circles and avoid (unconsciously or not) contact with strangers. Of course there's a downside to this as well, and Brits tend to be a lot more... forward. I don't mean that as a complaint, I'm just noting cultural differences.

If there's any advice of any value I could give, it's that pick your hostels carefully. If you're on a budget, sleeping in a dorm room is not a bad idea. Hell, I only paid some £62 of hostel expenses in Edinburgh. However, unless you're planning on eating out all the time, you'd do well to check if the hostel in question has a guest kitchen. Also, I wouldn't recommend almost any hostels within close proximity of a night club or a bar. Trust me, you'll sleep better if you avoid those.

--

My next destination? Probably Russia in a year or two at best.

[barefootinkenya]

Post-Kenya

I spent most of my day of travel back to the US thinking about my time in Kenya. So many different aspects of my life have been affected by this trip. I have learned a great deal professionally, personally, emotionally, spiritually, socially, historically, politically and even economically. I am glad to have had this opportunity to travel once again and understand the world a bit better. 

A few things I learned about which I hope to write posts about in the near future as I continue to get over jet-lag and (reverse) culture shock.

White privilege and the Kenyan view of white people

Poverty

Americans/America

Education in Kenya

Other miscellaneous thoughts and revelations from the summer

Get excited for some thought-provoking posts people! 

-Kristen

[04-quatrewinner-blog]

The Morning After

Quatre slowly woke from a fitful slumber. Ever since he returned from L4, he'd been plagued by near constant nightmares. He'd taken to sleeping on the living room couch so as to not disturb anyone else. He'd learned some things on his trip that had drastically changed the way he viewed his parents and his own life. Quietly padding to the kitchen, he got a glass of water and sat at the kitchen table, head in his hands. Gazing at the wall-clock, it was only two hours before he had to be up for work. Might as well make the best of it.

He tried to clear his mind of the inner demon he carried - a single voice that chided him at best, and laid into him at worst. It hadn't stopped verbally abusing him since he stepped on the shuttle from L4 back home. "Murderer, fake, terrorist," the voice repeated. Before his trip, it was much easier to ignore and repress. Learning the truth about his origin had brought every guilty thought to the forefront of his consciousness and like he had the morning before, his tears and sobs were hidden in the water and sound of his shower.

Getting to the office early was done pretty much on auto-pilot. He muttered a good morning to cadets walking by, trying his best to give them that Winner smile, the one that told them that everything was fine.

It wasn't until he got to his office that he shut his door, something he almost never does. Opening his laptop to dozens and dozens of unread emails and priority tasks, he set off to work. Perhaps keeping busy would keep his mind off other things.

[heatherandignas-blog-blog]

Peru Itinerary

The first blog I wanted to write when I got back home was our itinerary. I planned on creating a similar map to the one I made for the Costa Rica itinerary. But let's be honest, my work in Adobe Acrobat isn't that cool. I figured that there has to be some kind of itinerary/map-maker somewhere on the internet... and voila! I stumbled upon Tripline. Tripline is basically an interactive map. I've only spent about half an hour playing with it but so far, it's awesome. Check out the itinerary I made below. From what I've seen, you can get really creative with this thing: animate your traveling on the map, upload pictures from your trip, import check-ins from your Foursquare, and of course, share your maps with your friends and family. Once I spend more time exploring Tripline's features, I will probably write another blog on it. For now, here is the itinerary that me and Ignas did while in Peru! The map is not an image! It's a video! Don't forget to PRESS PLAY in the top right corner. :) If you zoom out on the map below, you'll see that we only got to spend time in southern Peru. We were sad that we couldn't include any northern destinations, especially Ignas since there's really good surfing there.   We were debating on including Lake Titicaca or the Amazon but we decided not to do either. We felt that we would lose too much time traveling and we didn't want to exhaust ourselves by constantly moving. Although we really only visited the regions of Arequipa, Cusco, and the Sacred Valley, we were happy that we had as much time as we did. And as always, we also wished we had more time at each place! There was just so much to see and do!

[heatherandignas-blog-blog]

Hola Los Angeles

Plaza de Armas - Cusco, Peru

We're back home and I'm sad to report that I'm sick. My invincible boyfriend, on the other hand, is on an extended vacation due to an incoming swell and all of the waves coming with it. So while I stayed home sick today, he went surfing this morning before work! Then again, I just finished making the best congee in the world and I'm uploading pictures from the S95 so I guess things aren't so bad.

Santa Catalina Monastery - Arequipa, Peru

Peru was definitely an experience I will never forget: breathtaking landscapes, delectable cuisine, friendly people, and a culture overflowing with history and pride. Looking back, I'm really happy with the itinerary we choose. I felt that it gave us enough time to see all of the touristy attractions in each region we visited while embracing a bit of the local daily life.

Colca Canyon, Peru

In comparison to Costa Rica, I would say that Peru is NOT relaxing. There's just too much to immerse yourself in. In Peru, I wished that my stomach was bigger so I could eat more of the delicious food. I wished that I had more muscle and stamina to trek through the mountain ranges and valleys. I wished that I paid more attention during my college art classes to have a deeper understanding of the art and architecture. And of course, I wish we had more time. We barely scratched the surface with our 2 weeks.

Machu Picchu, Peru

I hope to upload pictures and blogs as soon as I can. Ignas will too, he promised! (Writing that in here as insurance ;) Thank you Peru for an unforgettable experience!